PLayers aPPreciate Passion of oiLers’ fans
Oilers know the wrath of an angry crowd comes with playing in hockey-mad market
The Edmonton Oilers always unveil a wide array of pageantry and prizes on Fan Appreciation Night, but too many times lately it’s been overshadowed by the giant elephant in the rink.
As much as fans want to celebrate and enjoy a night like Thursday, it’s difficult to truly appreciate the moment against the backdrop of a team that very likely will miss the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 years.
It’s almost like every time they hand out a gift or a prize, the emcee should look at the camera, give a sheepish shrug, and whisper: “We’re really sorry.”
But the night always goes ahead, and both sides make the most of it, each doing their best to ignore the awkward truth. It’s just another layer in the emotional, and occasionally testy, relationship between the team and its fans.
“They voice it when they’re not happy, and at the end of the day, they have the right to,” said winger Zack Kassian, adding everyone in the dressing room knows more was expected from the Oilers this year.
“They want to win just as much as we want to win. There were a couple of rough patches early on this year where they let us feel it, but that’s about playing in a passionate market. You can go to Arizona, where there are 5,000 fans, if you don’t like it.”
That’s the money quote. As hot as the spotlight can burn sometimes, they do appreciate playing in a market where people care about hockey more than they care about anything else in town. The same players who have felt the wrath of the crowd are also amazed at how willing Edmonton fans are to put aside the disappointment and frustration and throw their full support behind the team, or a struggling player, when they feel it’s warranted.
When the world is crashing down on Tobias Rieder, they were chanting his name in that 8-4 win over the L.A. Kings, hoping he could piggyback on the team’s offensive outburst and break his 61-game scoring drought. When Milan Lucic scores, they cheer like he was one of their kids at a minor hockey game.
But make 13 passes around the perimeter on the power play, when you’re down 3-1 with six minutes to go in the third period, and the rink becomes an angry place in a hurry.
“A couple of years ago, right before the playoffs started, you could feel the energy ramping up in here, the fans have that gear,” Kassian said. “As players, we got a taste of the playoffs, how amazing it was. I’ve never been around a building so loud and so passionate. It was amazing. To not get back to that is frustrating as players.”
And as fans.
“We just have to be a little better for them,” Kassian said. “They’ve been good during this stretch drive. They know what’s at stake, and it’s up to us to go out and put on a good show.”
Head coach Ken Hitchcock grew up in Edmonton and knows better than anyone how the city lives and breathes the NHL, but until now he’s never felt it from the inside. It’s intense, but he says it’s something everyone in hockey should experience once.
“This is a unique experience, coaching in Canada,” he said. “Hockey in the United States is a sport — here, it’s a way of life.
“I live in a complex where there are a lot of season ticket holders. There are two or three who I run into all the time, and they take second jobs so they can buy tickets to Oilers games. That’s their passion. They work extra hours just so they can be Oilers fans.
“I think, after a while, you really learn to appreciate that. It’s a way of life and it’s a really important part of this community. The longer you live here and the longer you stay here, the more you find out about that stuff. I find that unbelievable. People know it’s a long winter here at times, but their recreation and their community is the Oilers. It’s a big deal.”
PHONING IT IN
In the NFL, Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury is allowing cellphone breaks during team meetings in an effort to keep players focused on the subject matter, rather than worrying about what texts they’ve missed.
It’s not a policy the Oilers will be adopting any time soon. Hitchcock would like to see less cellphone time around the team, not more.
“That’s the part where you’re old school,” he said. “You go for dinner as a group and everybody’s heads are down (looking at their phone). You’re missing the boat on what it’s like to be on a team. It’s about the discussions and debates that go on when you’re out together.
“When there’s no social activity on non-game days, long term you get worried about that. We’re just going to become isolationists.”